Reads, Listens, Watches

Reading list of books, magazines, newspaper articles, other physical documents, or online posts
Playlist of posts listened to, or scrobbled
Playlist of watched movies, television shows, online videos, and other visual-based events
Read a thread by @Klonick (Twitter)
I keep hearing more horror stories like this about Hertz. Where is the actual government regulation to protect consumers en masse? Without protections against corporations like this, their service just becomes a tax on society which only benefits the corporation.
Read - Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Milkweed Editions )
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer as been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return.
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Read “Skywoman Falling”
It’s interesting to compare and contrast the origin stories of Skywoman and Eve (of Adam & Eve). Also interesting to see the cultural differences which arise from these philosophies.

Watched "The West Wing" The Leadership Breakfast from HBO Max
The Leadership Breakfast: Directed by Scott Winant. Toby wants to use a bipartisan breakfast to discuss real issues instead of making it a staged event; Sam floats the idea of moving the press room across the street; Leo wants Josh to apologize to a columnist on his behalf; Leo and Toby realize they need to start thinking about reelection.
Watched "The West Wing" Galileo from HBO Max
Galileo: Directed by Alex Graves. The President and NASA plan a TV event for a probe's landing on Mars; satellite photographs show a suspicious-looking fire in Russia; Leo asks Toby and Josh to decide on the next postage stamp; Sam and C.J. have personal reasons for not wanting to accompany the President to a concert.
Watched "The West Wing" Shibboleth from HBO Max
Shibboleth: Directed by Laura Innes. Dozens of Chinese stowaways are discovered in a container ship in California; Toby looks to pick a fight over school prayer with a recess appointment; Thanksgiving at the White House sees C.J. in charge of turkeys and Charlie looking for the ultimate carving knife.
Read Introducing the HyperText Coffee Pot by James Gallagher (James' Coffee Blog)
I was thinking about how I could mix coffee and technology. After some thought I remembered the Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP), a protocol defined by the IETF that describes ways in which one can send commands to coffee machines. For coffee and technology enthusiasts such as myself, the protocol is a must read, especially if you find yourself interested in operating coffee pots remotely.
This is awesome James. Can’t wait to see it in action with an actual coffee pot… Until then, you could have the physical endpoint return a 418?
Read A Note to Our Readers From Steve and Jonah (thedispatch.com)
Dear Dispatch reader, Jonah and I strongly prefer covering and analyzing current events to being the news. But some developments over the past few weeks mean that we’ll be the focus of some reporting and attention and we wanted you to hear it from us first.
Center-right journalists Steve Hayes and Jonah Goldberg of The Dispatch have severed ties with Fox News over a misinformation campaign from Tucker Carlson based on the January 6 events.
Kudos to them for drawing a line on this issue.
Watched "Breaking Bad" Felina from Netflix
Felina: Directed by Vince Gilligan. With Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris. Walter White makes one last attempt to secure his family's future, while also visiting some old enemies, during his final return to Albuquerque.
I’d started rewatching all five seasons this past year, this finally puts the cap on my second viewing of the whole series. Still solid, though it’s not as compelling as watching it the first time. Knowing how things turn out does dampen a bit of the excitement.
Read Aboriginal education and The Memory Code by Lynne KellyLynne Kelly (lynnekelly.com.au)
I was so pleased to receive this email from Sue Norman telling me how The Memory Code had been part of the ground work for this wonderful project on revitalising Aboriginal languages. The linked report is from the ABC. It is so rewarding to get endorsement from Aboriginal organisations.
Watched "The Great British Baking Show" Episode #12.9 from Netflix
Episode #12.9: With Noel Fielding, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Matt Lucas. It's the Bake Off semi-final, and time to test the remaining bakers' abilities in patisserie. There's a delicate layered slice that demands precision, a regional French classic, and then the bakers must create an opulent entremets display.
A shocking turn at the end of this episode. They should have had all four go to the final.
Watched Field Notes: Reporter's Notebook by Coudal PartnersCoudal Partners from Vimeo

Field Notes: Reporter's Notebook from Coudal Partners on Vimeo.

John Dickerson of “Face the Nation” talks about how he uses a Reporter’s Notebook and how he helped Field Notes make one. ❧

Reporter John Dickerson talking about his notebook.

While he doesn’t mention it, he’s capturing the spirit of the commonplace book and the zettelkasten.

[…] I see my job as basically helping people see and to grab ahold of what’s going on.

You can decide to do that the minute you sit down to start writing or you can just do it all the time. And by the time you get to writing you have a notebook full of stuff that can be used.

And it’s not just about the thing you’re writing about at that moment or the question you’re going to ask that has to do with that week’s event on Face the Nation on Sunday.

If you’ve been collecting all week long and wondering why a thing happens or making an observation about something and using that as a piece of color to explain the political process to somebody, then you’ve been doing your work before you ever sat down to do your work.

I’d love to interview him about his process as well as keeping track of his notes after-the-fact. Does he index them? Collate them? How does he archive them? What role do they play in his book writing processes? Is his system something that he was taught, something which he created and refined over time, or a little bit of both?

Read - Want to Read: Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters by Steven Pinker (Allen Lane )
In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that discovered vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, quack cures and conspiracy theorizing? In Rationality, Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are simply an irrational species - cavemen out of time fatally cursed with biases, fallacies and illusions. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives and set the benchmarks for rationality itself. Instead, he explains, we think in ways that suit the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning we have built up over millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, causal inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book - until now. Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. Brimming with insight and humour, Rationality will enlighten, inspire and empower.